Martha Coakley to run for Ted Kennedy's seat

Glen Johnson, Associated Press

Published 4:00 am, Friday, September 4, 2009

Photo: Josh Reynolds, AP

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Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley speaks to reporters in Boston, Thursday, Sept. 3, 2009, where she declared herself a Democratic candidate in the special election to succeed the late Sen. Edward M. Kennedy. Kennedy died last week of brain cancer at age 77. (AP Photo/Josh Reynolds) less

Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley speaks to reporters in Boston, Thursday, Sept. 3, 2009, where she declared herself a Democratic candidate in the special election to succeed the late Sen. Edward M. ... more

Photo: Josh Reynolds, AP

Martha Coakley to run for Ted Kennedy's seat

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Attorney General Martha Coakley announced Thursday she will run as a Democratic candidate in the special election to succeed the late Sen. Edward Kennedy.

The 20-year prosecutor said she can continue to be "an effective voice for the people of Massachusetts."

Coakley said at a news conference that the state has had a "crisis of confidence" since Kennedy's death and she wants to pick up his mantle.

"We've depended on him here in the Commonwealth and in Washington, and we will miss his strength and leadership and his sense of humor. As some have noted, no one can fill his shoes, but we must strive to follow in his footsteps," she told supporters at a downtown Boston hotel.

Coakley sidestepped a question from reporters whether she favored changing state law to allow the governor to appoint an interim senator, as Kennedy had requested in a letter before his death. Legislators have planned a hearing on the matter for next week.

"For me, personally, I am fully focused on the race," she said, adding she trusted that legislators "will make the right decision."

The 56-year-old Coakley becomes the most prominent candidate to officially declare. Several others are waiting for Kennedy's nephew, former Rep. Joseph Kennedy II, to decide if he will run.

Coakley said in response to a question that she decided to commit to the race without waiting to see whether a Kennedy family member would run because the senator had declared, in his letter seeking an interim appointment, that the state needs strong and effective representation in Washington.